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AG Confirms: Chris Patrick Violated The Open Meetings Act…

Chris Patrick’s statement of “I’m in charge and frankly I don’t give a damn” was not seen in good light in the Attorney General’s office. They looked at the facts and determined without any doubt that Chris Patrick and the Edgar County Board did indeed violate the Open Meetings Act on May 20, 2013. What they (the ones not objecting) decided was that it was “common sense” to start the meeting early since the meeting prior ended early.

I would have thought that Mr. Zuber, having attended several hundred school board meetings, would have known that the only “common sense” that counts is what is written into law. He assisted in this violation of the law as did several other of the board members including Mike Heltsey – but we all know Mike’s used to violating laws anyway.

The law, or Open Meetings Act, states in part that “Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public shall be held at specified times and placeswhich are convenient and open to the public. No meeting required by this Act to be public shall be held on a legal holiday unless the regular meeting day falls on that holiday". That means you cannot change the place or time within 48 hours of a meeting…just because you feel like. I doesn’t work that way.

…”Thus, the Board violated OMA by starting its May 20, 2013 meeting early”… something we told them when they were contemplating their “common sense” decision to break the law.

I’m sure the attorney generals office really appreciates this non-sense. There probably weren’t any other more pressing legal issues for them to deal with. Don’t think they aren’t aware of your motives for filing complaints of this nature. This story reeks of personal vendetta so badly that it is you guys that end up looking foolish. Stop wasting tax payers money and state officials time with this petty business. Grow up and do something productive and worthwhile for our county instead of trying to enact revenge on individuals you don’t like with this rediculousness.

Why are you so upset when you find out that Mr. Patrick violated the law? We knew it all along, but he said he was in charge and didn’t give a damn. That, to me, says he needed proved wrong, and he needed to know that violations of the law will not be tolerated.

While you might think this instance is petty, I think this instance places another mark in the “pattern of behavior” column for use at a future time.

Let’s use Chandra Smith for example: People have told us this health department theft was not her first time. Well, nobody else pressed charges the other (alleged) times, so as far as the judge and the law knew, she was a first time offender worthy of a more leniant sentence. Had there been a pattern of theft, documented through the court or the AG, her sentence in this health department case could very well have been alot worse.

The attorney general is asleep at the switch on any issue that deals with fighting corruption in government. That’s why its called Illinois, you moron! Open meetings act violations are the beginning of corrupt government because govt. officials think they can do what they please and break the rules to suit themselves. I’m just glad the watchdogs are catching them and exposing these thieves and legal banditos for who they are.

How early they started is not the issue. But it was 15 minutes early. The issue was that we asked him to wait, several other board members asked him to wait, and he said he didn’t give a damn and started the meeting anyway.

He knew at the time he was breaking the law and chose to break it. If they bend on 15 minutes, will 30 minutes be OK? 60? 45? 25? When would the line be drawn, if ignoring the law “to a degree” is OK?